Delay doesn't dampen South Tahoe Olympian celebration

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South Shore’s three Olympians arrived to the sounds of cheers, horns, whistles and bagpipes Saturday as crowds welcomed the athletes home.

Jamie Anderson, Maddie Bowman and Hannah Teter rode through portions of South Lake Tahoe and Meyers on a fire truck as hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of people congratulated them from the sidelines.

Some residents painted their faces red, white and blue. Others held signs that read “welcome home” or “we are so proud”.

As for the athletes, well, they seemed to be glad to be home, too.

“It feels so good to be back here,” Anderson said before the parade. “Tahoe’s always that space where you kind of get to come back and unwind, settle down, enjoy the beautiful nature, hang out with your family. And, especially this time coming home I’ve been on the road for so long. So to fly into Reno and see a little welcome home Jamie sign was all time.”

The fire truck took the Olympians from South Tahoe High School onto Highway 50, then past the airport and through Meyers. It was supposed to reach Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort about 1:40 p.m. for the celebration to continue, but was delayed about an hour near Echo Summit.

The delay was allegedly caused by a large rock that had fallen and blocked a portion of the roadway.

However, no one seemed to mind at Sierra when the Olympians arrived a little while later. A band played above a crowd that cheered louder than ever, chanting “U.S.A.” intermittently as the women made their entrance.

Anderson, Bowman and Teter then took their seats on a stage and were given several honors and awards by a number of city, county and state officials.

Travis Cabral, a South Shore native who retired from the U.S. Ski Team after competing in the 2006 Winter Games, was one of the speakers during the celebration at Sierra.

“These girls are amazing athletes, and I’m so proud of them,” Cabral said. “I’m so proud of this community that supports athletes like this.”

Anderson and Bowman won Olympic gold medals this year for snowboard slopestyle and freeski halfpipe, respectively. Teter placed fourth in snowboard halfpipe.